[unknownsolo]

I caved and bought the brown MW75 on sale for $480 + no tax (WA tax is 10%, so this is a good deal for me). I already have the MG20 for gaming, and it sounds great. Once I get the MW75, I can provide a side-by-side comparison. I will be happy if the MW75 sounds like the MG20 + ANC. I wish the MG20 had ANC instead of the useless 7.1 surround that nobody will ever use.

 

[Jazz1]

I caved and bought the brown MW75 on sale for $480 + no tax (WA tax is 10%, so this is a good deal for me). I already have the MG20 for gaming, and it sounds great. Once I get the MW75, I can provide a side-by-side comparison. I will be happy if the MW75 sounds like the MG20 + ANC. I wish the MG20 had ANC instead of the useless 7.1 surround that nobody will ever use.

Let us know what you think regarding the two headphones!

 

[unknownsolo]

Will do. Hopefully it will be here by next week.

 

[unknownsolo]

Great - now that I just dropped almost $500 on a pair of headphones, I wonder if they're doing a refresh soon since most colors are sold out on their site.

 

[unknownsolo]

While I wait for these headphones to arrive, why do you all think Master & Dynamic is hardly discussed over here or anywhere else on the internet? They are not new to the game and have a solid lineup. I don't think it has to do with the price, either because you can find many more expensive headphones reviewed everywhere. Every single comparison review I found online always talks about the same 4 to 5 pairs of headphones, and that's it. Even reviews like "We tested over 100 different headphones..." and not a single M&D. Many respectable sites don't even have M&D in their brand list.

 

[XTF1]

While I wait for these headphones to arrive, why do you all think Master & Dynamic is hardly discussed over here or anywhere else on the internet? They are not new to the game and have a solid lineup. I don't think it has to do with the price, either because you can find many more expensive headphones reviewed everywhere. Every single comparison review I found online always talks about the same 4 to 5 pairs of headphones, and that's it. Even reviews like "We tested over 100 different headphones..." and not a single M&D. Many respectable sites don't even have M&D in their brand list.

As you say, M&D is hardly discussed… My view…

I have 3 M&D: a MW75 (silver & brown), a MW60 (red), and a MH40 (dark blue). To me—and this is very subjective—they are just beautiful… The aesthetics and the (guilty) pleasure of owning a nice, well crafted, object were enough to purchase them.
And they’ve stayed nice and have held very well… Quality is excellent, and… I hardly use them!

Here’s the thing, I own way too many headphones ( ) and I can’t find a single scenario where the M&D’s would be my first choice. MW75? My ML5909 sounds much much better. I even prefer the sound of my modest AKG N700NC. I would not take my ML5909 on the go, but neither the MW75–that’s my Sonoflow or XM5 duty. And so on…

I think the main reason M&D is not discussed much is that, although they are not bad headphones, they are just not good enough at any particular thing…

 

[unknownsolo]

100% agree. I am not claiming they are the best sounding. I also agree with the guilty pleasure aspect of owning them and the amazing build quality. It is weird that many other headphone brands, better or worse, are mentioned a lot more and reviewed a lot more. You rarely see any Master & Dynamic reviewed anywhere. Even on this site, they are hardly mentioned outside of this thread.

 

[unknownsolo]

Hmm, so I got the MW75 just now, and I have mixed feelings about it right away compared to the MG20. I am spending some time with it and will do a quick write-up comparing the two shortly. But first impressions are not very good! I'm not sure if these are staying or going back.

 

[unknownsolo]

Ok, so I have been wearing the MW75 for a little close to 6 hours now. I am very tired of wearing them. They are not an all-day pair of headphones for me, mainly because of the earpad size!

I will focus on just comparing the MW75 to the MG20. These two headphones share a lot of similarities.

Quality, size, and weight
The MW75 feels like it is of much nicer quality. The leather, the aluminum ear cups on the MW75 vs the plastic earcups on the MG20, the buttons, etc. The MG20 is excellent, but compared to the MW75, it feels more plasticy and has lesser quality. Even the headbands on both are lamp skin, but the MW75 feels like it was made with better quality. That said, the hinges and the size adjustment are almost identical. I found the clamping force to be about the same as well. It's like they were both made with the same frame except different components.

The MG20 ear cups can fold in, or out. The MW75 ear cups can only fold in (Why M&D?)

I like the scroll wheels on the MG20 more than the buttons on the MW75. The scroll wheels are easier to navigate when you are wearing the headphones. I found myself constantly feeling all the buttons on the MW75 to figure out where I was before pressing anything.

Unsurprisingly, the MG20 weighs less because of all the plastic. But It's a very minor difference. Personally, if I had to hold one and then the other, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But with holding them both at the same time you could tell the MG20 is slightly lighter.



Ear pads
Did they make the MW75 ear pads for kids? I don't understand why they are so small! What is crazy is that the ear cups on both headphones are identical in size! The outside of the ear pad sizes are also almost identical. It's the middle ear space that is very small. The ear pads that come with the MW75 are thicker, which makes the center a lot smaller.

To add insult to injury, the MG20 has 50mm drivers, while the MW75 has 40mm drivers. They use the exact same size housing, so you would think the ear pads would be the same? Nope! They decided to make the MW75 ear pads smaller for whatever reason!

I looked at their site, and the pictures they posted for replacement ear pads for both the MG20 and the MW75 look almost identical. If anything, the MW75 ear pad pictures look bigger than the MG20 ear pad pictures, but in reality, they are the opposite. I emailed their support to see if they updated their design by any chance, but I doubt they did! I hope to hear back from them and will go from there. I actually might return these headphones for this reason.



App
The app is meh at best. But I already knew that from using the MG20. I don't care too much about apps in general since most of the stuff is set it and forget it for me. You can change the EQ presets, ANC volume, and audio prompts. One thing I found weird is if you turn the audio prompts off, I expected to hear single/double/etc confirmation dings, but nope, you just don't hear any prompts at all. If audio prompts are off, there is no way to tell which ANC setting you are on. You would have to listen and guess.

Other than the few toggles, there isn't much going on here. I was already on the latest firmware.



Sound quality
I found the MW75 to be bass-heavy right out of the box. I had to change the preset in the app to "BASS CUT" which matched the default no preset sound on the MG20. Both headphones sound great, and I am sure many people would be pleased with one or the other. With A/B testing, I like the sound eq (with BASS CUT) of the MW75 more than the MG20. The MW75 sounded more detailed than the slightly more V shape of the MG20. Since the MG20 is mainly a gaming headset, the default preset is tuned with somewhat more treble and less mid-range.

I mainly listen to rock music, and with the MW75, the instruments' separation sounded much more alive and fun. With that said, I bet you could make both headphones sound exactly the same with proper EQ. The MG20 might sound even better due to the 50mm beryllium driver, compared to the 40mm beryllium driver on the MW75.

Wired mode
This is mentioned on the site, but the MW75 has two different passive-wired modes. You can use the 3.5mm to USB-C cable for analog passive mode, and it will work with the headphones off and no ANC. Or, use the USB-C to USB-C digital passive mode, but the headphones will need to be on, and you can use ANC. I haven't compared the sound quality of the two modes.

You get the 1m long cables with the MW75. The MG20 includes the 2m cables. In the picture below I am using the 2m 3.5mm to USB-C cable I got with the MG20.

 

[unknownsolo]

I know you can use the MG20 ear pads with the MW75 (which requires forcing them in), but I don't want to do that. I feel that if I am spending this amount on headphones, I shouldn't be going out of my way to make them work.

 

[Jazz1]

Ok, so I have been wearing the MW75 for a little close to 6 hours now. I am very tired of wearing them. They are not an all-day pair of headphones for me, mainly because of the earpad size!

I will focus on just comparing the MW75 to the MG20. These two headphones share a lot of similarities.

Quality, size, and weight
The MW75 feels like it is of much nicer quality. The leather, the aluminum ear cups on the MW75 vs the plastic earcups on the MG20, the buttons, etc. The MG20 is excellent, but compared to the MW75, it feels more plasticy and has lesser quality. Even the headbands on both are lamp skin, but the MW75 feels like it was made with better quality. That said, the hinges and the size adjustment are almost identical. I found the clamping force to be about the same as well. It's like they were both made with the same frame except different components.

The MG20 ear cups can fold in, or out. The MW75 ear cups can only fold in (Why M&D?)

I like the scroll wheels on the MG20 more than the buttons on the MW75. The scroll wheels are easier to navigate when you are wearing the headphones. I found myself constantly feeling all the buttons on the MW75 to figure out where I was before pressing anything.

Unsurprisingly, the MG20 weighs less because of all the plastic. But It's a very minor difference. Personally, if I had to hold one and then the other, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But with holding them both at the same time you could tell the MG20 is slightly lighter.



Ear pads
Did they make the MW75 ear pads for kids? I don't understand why they are so small! What is crazy is that the ear cups on both headphones are identical in size! The outside of the ear pad sizes are also almost identical. It's the middle ear space that is very small. The ear pads that come with the MW75 are thicker, which makes the center a lot smaller.

To add insult to injury, the MG20 has 50mm drivers, while the MW75 has 40mm drivers. They use the exact same size housing, so you would think the ear pads would be the same? Nope! They decided to make the MW75 ear pads smaller for whatever reason!

I looked at their site, and the pictures they posted for replacement ear pads for both the MG20 and the MW75 look almost identical. If anything, the MW75 ear pad pictures look bigger than the MG20 ear pad pictures, but in reality, they are the opposite. I emailed their support to see if they updated their design by any chance, but I doubt they did! I hope to hear back from them and will go from there. I actually might return these headphones for this reason.



App
The app is meh at best. But I already knew that from using the MG20. I don't care too much about apps in general since most of the stuff is set it and forget it for me. You can change the EQ presets, ANC volume, and audio prompts. One thing I found weird is if you turn the audio prompts off, I expected to hear single/double/etc confirmation dings, but nope, you just don't hear any prompts at all. If audio prompts are off, there is no way to tell which ANC setting you are on. You would have to listen and guess.

Other than the few toggles, there isn't much going on here. I was already on the latest firmware.



Sound quality
I found the MW75 to be bass-heavy right out of the box. I had to change the preset in the app to "BASS CUT" which matched the default no preset sound on the MG20. Both headphones sound great, and I am sure many people would be pleased with one or the other. With A/B testing, I like the sound eq (with BASS CUT) of the MW75 more than the MG20. The MW75 sounded more detailed than the slightly more V shape of the MG20. Since the MG20 is mainly a gaming headset, the default preset is tuned with somewhat more treble and less mid-range.

I mainly listen to rock music, and with the MW75, the instruments' separation sounded much more alive and fun. With that said, I bet you could make both headphones sound exactly the same with proper EQ. The MG20 might sound even better due to the 50mm beryllium driver, compared to the 40mm beryllium driver on the MW75.

Wired mode
This is mentioned on the site, but the MW75 has two different passive-wired modes. You can use the 3.5mm to USB-C cable for analog passive mode, and it will work with the headphones off and no ANC. Or, use the USB-C to USB-C digital passive mode, but the headphones will need to be on, and you can use ANC. I haven't compared the sound quality of the two modes.

You get the 1m long cables with the MW75. The MG20 includes the 2m cables. In the picture below I am using the 2m 3.5mm to USB-C cable I got with the MG20.

Wow, extensive write-up. Much Appreciated. I found the MG pads work great or me on the MW75. My ears are not large, probably a little less than medium in size. So I can see how the stock and the MG pads might not really fix that "on ear" feeling, even though I understand the MW75 I think is supposed to be over the ear. Maybe I'm wrong??? As to sound I like the MW75's. But I like to rotate all my headphones while listening to music. So my faves constantly change!

 

[unknownsolo]

The MG pads are so comfortable for me, too. The MW is too small, even though they are the same size headphones! I don't know who at M&D tested and approved the MW pads! I don't have large ears, too, but the MW pads are too tight! If they were any smaller, they would be on ear.

I LOVE the look of MW75 headphones. They are very stylish, and the build quality is excellent. But now I am wondering how they compare to the B&W Px8.

 

[XTF1]

The MG pads are so comfortable for me, too. The MW is too small, even though they are the same size headphones! I don't know who at M&D tested and approved the MW pads! I don't have large ears, too, but the MW pads are too tight! If they were any smaller, they would be on ear.

I LOVE the look of MW75 headphones. They are very stylish, and the build quality is excellent. But now I am wondering how they compare to the B&W Px8.

As for the earpads, yes they are on the small side. I have other HP like that, but personally, it does not bother me: the pads don’t go “around” my ears, but the rear part of my ear lobes are tucked inside, touching the internal part of the pads, and the bottom of my lobes are mostly outside, squeezed by the pads. I know it may sound weird, but I have zero discomfort and can listen like that for hours…

If you talk about small earpads, here is a comparison between my MW75 (brown & silver) and a recently purchased Rose Technics “North Forest” (silver):

Now… those are small !!!

 

[unknownsolo]

Wow! That's basically on ear

These MW75 pads are slowly growing on me. As you said, with the MW75 the back of my ears are tucked in, and it doesn't hurt or anything, but it's definitely on the tight side. I wore them for 6 hours yesterday, sitting on my PC testing, listening to music, playing some video games wired, etc., and it was okay. But, after the 6 hours, I needed a break and I had to take them off! 6 hours at home is not common for me, so yesterday was mainly for testing, but I do travel, and 6+ hours traveling is more realistic.

Taking the MW75 off and wearing the MG20 makes you feel like, "Ahhh, these are so much more comfortable!"

 

[XTF1]

These MW75 pads are slowly growing on me.

Literally? Maybe that’s the trick !!!

I see your point and don’t disagree. I can wear the MW75 for hours… but my ML 5909 (It has been said they are related…) are more comfortable. And something like my Sundara just “disappears” on my head… But they are much looser clamping force.